Artwork on the edge, Mercury News

Silicon Valley will flip the switch on its newest start-up Monday -- a seven-day festival of art and technology. More than 150 artists will use everything from Internet chat rooms to GPS technology in works of art displayed throughout downtown, most of which can be viewed for free as part of ``ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge.''
Simply put, ZeroOne intends to show how the marriage of technology and art is redefining what we call art. In other words, don't expect ``Whistler's Mother.''
Artwork that integrates cell phone technology or a PDA might strike some as a tad wacky, but innovation has always been a part of the creative practice, festival director Steve Dietz said. For example, a specific shade of blue used by impressionists was invented only 40 years before their movement's heyday. `Branding' San Jose .There's hope that the festival can ``brand'' San Jose as a destination for purveyors and practitioners of art that uses technological innovations as tools. Similar festivals in Europe, such as Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria, have showcased such artwork, but ZeroOne is the only festival of its kind in the United States.`This will transform San Jose into the North American epicenter for the intersection of art and digital culture,'' said Dietz, former curator of new media at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Everyone from artists to members of the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau are fantasizing about ZeroOne's potential to become another summer celebration that brings crowds downtown.
The plan is to turn ZeroOne into a biennial event that showcases the artistic side of technological innovation, said Dan Keegan, executive director of the San Jose Museum of Art.
``What great communities do is they make these sorts of things happen because they add to the full, rich mix of the city experience,'' said Keegan, who was among those who spearheaded the movement to bring ZeroOne to San Jose. Like any start-up, the results of the festival are highly speculative. No one can predict how many people will flock downtown to experience the ``Pigeon Blog,'' which has homing pigeons with GPS-enabled, air-pollution-sensing devices that text-message real-time data to www.pigeonblog.mapyourcity.net.
Other ZeroOne attractions include ``Karaoke Ice,'' where an ice cream truck piloted by a driver in a squirrel suit enlists passersby to make a karaoke recording for future broadcast. Many of the exhibits and activities have online components that also allow spectators to interact with the pieces.
The potential for such a festival is not lost on the corporations and foundations that are covering more than two-thirds of the festival's $2 million cost. San Jose State University contributed $250,000 and the city of San Jose has contributed $190,000 in grants and another $60,000 for artwork tailored for the Mineta San Jose International Airport. `A part of the success of this festival is to draw people downtown and have them perceive it as a creative cultural center,'' said Steven Brewster, economic development officer for the city's office of economic development. ``This is an inaugural event, so it's untested. Based on the numbers of people who have attended other events of this caliber around the world, the city is committed to doing this every two years.''
Adobe Systems, which made one of the largest corporate donations at $250,000, has backed the festival in large part because of ZeroOne's educational elements, said Michelle Mann, senior group manager for corporate affairs and community relations.
``We're also involved because the people that work at Adobe are very creative and, in many ways, involved with this art,'' she said. ``And ZeroOne's so unique and different, and so many community organizations were involved in the planning, so we had confidence that it was really something.''
Cisco Systems also contributed $250,000 in cash and equipment.
The artistic gathering is paired with the International Symposium of Electronic Art, a biennial summit of academics and artists who present papers on art, science and emerging technologies. More than 500 people have registered for the conference that brings together scholars and artists.
Though organizers have said the festival is expected to draw as many as 50,000 people downtown -- the festival Web site generously puts the number at 70,000 -- Dan Fenton, president and CEO of the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, said winning over those who attend ZeroOne is as important as bringing in the masses.
``Our real goal this year is for people to walk away from it saying, `OK, now we get it and we're really supportive of this being part of the future,' '' Fenton said. ``Are we going to see a half a million people? Probably not. But this is something that's going to be special.''